Prometheus Hits New High - What Next?

(RTTNews) - Shares of Prometheus Biosciences Inc. (RXDX) closed at an all-time high of $59.01 on Friday (Sep.30, 2022), reflecting a gain of over 100% in 3 months.

Prometheus is a biotechnology company pioneering a precision medicine approach in developing novel therapeutic and companion diagnostic products for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

The company's lead drug candidate is PRA023, a monoclonal antibody that works by blocking TL1A, a target associated with both intestinal inflammation and fibrosis.

PRA023 is under the following clinical trials:

-- phase II trial in ulcerative colitis, dubbed ARTEMIS-UC -- phase IIa clinical trial in Crohn's disease, dubbed APOLLO-CD, and -- phase II trial in Systemic Sclerosis associated with Interstitial Lung Disease, known as ATHENA-SSc.

The ARTEMIS-UC phase II trial comprises of 2 cohorts and topline Cohort 1 data is expected this quarter.

Full results from the APOLLO-CD phase II trial are also due this quarter.

The ATHENA-SSc-ILD phase II trial was initiated in March of this year and topline results are anticipated in the first half of 2024.

Next in the pipeline is PRA052, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody blocking CD30 ligand, a costimulatory molecule that has been implicated in inflammatory bowel disease.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are two of the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is estimated to affect over 2 million people in the United States and over 5 million people globally. The IBD market, which was approximately $12.5 billion in the United States in 2019, is expected to grow to roughly $14.2 billion by 2024, according to reports.

There are a couple of approved drugs for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe IBD, like Takeda's Entyvio, Abbvie's Humira, Janssen Pharma's Stelara, Pfizer's Xeljanz, and Johnson & Johnson's Simponi. A number of drugs are also in development for the treatment of patients with UC and/or CD.

However, there still remains an unmet need on the efficacy side in the management of IBD. Prometheus believes that its precision approach will help to tackle limitations of traditional IBD drug development.

Cash position:

The company ended June 30, 2022, with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $211.8 million.

Prometheus Biosciences made its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on March 12, 2021, pricing its stock offering at $19 per share.

RXDX has traded in a range of $21.50 to $63.13 in the last 1 year. The stock closed Friday's trading at $59.01, up 2.55%.